Sunset /sky over Rutland Water

 Oil on Board, 3.625 x 5 inches

'Sunset Sky over Rutland Water', oil 3.625 x 5 inches
I felt it was time to paint half-a-dozen Christmas-present-sized paintings, so here's the first one out of the blocks. I've deliberately reduced the size of the file - at high res, because that comes out much bigger than the actual painting on the screen, it looks awful and shows up every flaw, so here it is, more or less actual size on a screen so it doesn't look too bad!

Hay Bales near Preston

 Oil on Board, 3.625 x 5 inches

'Hay Bales near Preston', Oil 3.625 x 5 inches

I've been meaning to paint some bales for a while - just love the light effects on these roly-poly rolls - they have the most subtle tone and colour shifts. I aranged the bales into a pleasing composition - a reminder of late Summer as we head into the cold Winter months!

Beech Fall

Oil on Board, 12 x 17 inches

I painted this a couple of years ago and have revisited it, adding some Fallow Deer for interest, repainted the background and reframed it. Sometimes there's no reason why a painting doesn't sell, and other times it's obvious. Not sure which sector this fits into, but you as an artist have to put yourself into the shoes, or eyes, of a buyer and ask "would I buy this...does this have what it takes for me to fork out my hard-earned money?" A painting has to have a hook, be it bravura brushwork, a familiar place, a romantic vista, an atmospheric quality, a light effect...some sort of impact on the viewer. I think this one is better now, but we'll see by the reaction in the gallery!

St. James's Park

Oil, 9 x 12 inches

Here's my two-hour effort from the magnificent British Plein Air Painters' paint-out at St.James's Park back in October, where the entire park was monopolised by artists, causing lots of passers by to have a chat and wonder what was going on! I couldn't resist the contrast of the overhanging foliage set against the backdrop of blue trees on the distant shreline. The chap leaning against the fence was there for about a minute allowing me to dash him in. I tickled it up in the studio with the help of a couple of photos as aide memoires, and hopefully it captures the beautiful warm hazy light we were blessed with all day.